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 John Humphrys
John Humphrys and the programme broadcast from Basra on Monday 23rd and Wednesday 25th October. They were speaking to British soldiers and assessing the reconstruction effort.
Listen to John Humphrys' 0810 report
Read John Humphrys' essay revealing his impression about the country.
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The Today Programme in Basra
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The 91Èȱ¬ is not responsible for the content of external websites
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I’ve been in Iraq for six days … no time at all to make judgements about the state of a nation. What you need for that is to LIVE in a place, live with the locals, go everywhere, talk to everyone … but you can’t do that in less than a week. Nor could I do it if I stayed another week or another month. Why? Because you can’t see most of it for yourself.
You have to rely on official briefings and second-hand reports. And THAT alone tells you a huge amount about what’s going on here … how the country has fared since the end of the war three and a half years ago and when our own British soldiers can come home…. When (to use the govt’s OFTEN-used phrase) the job has been done. As everyone knows, the big problem is security. But it’s not just a problem. It overwhelms everything. You can’t even GET here without going through the most extraordinary contortions.
In theory Basra is a six hour journey by air from London. In reality it’s often more than 24 hours because very leg of the journey is a logistical nightmare …. Purely for security reasons. Even getting from the Basra air station to the centre of the city. You are constantly being reminded that you’re in danger.
And once you’re here you’re a virtual prisoner. There are British diplomats who have NEVER been outside the security compound into the streets of Basra in all the months they’ve been here. The rules say they must have their own security detail and the soldiers can’t be spared unless there’s a very good reason. I DID get out … once… but you’ve usually got to use a warrior and that’s not nice.
This is about as safe as it gets in Basra… what the British soldiers call the Corniche … a road that runs along the Shat al Arab. You can tell that it was once a pretty elegant promenade and you can imagine middle class Iraqis taking the evening air here. And there are lots of people about … lots of men that is (no women) and even more small boys.
There was a time when British politicians and officials and military officers tried to play down the violence. They’d tell you (they told ME in one interview after another) that things WERE getting better and that it was foolish to concentrate only on trouble spots like Baghdad and Basra and the Sunni Triangle. They don’t say that any longer. They acknowledge that what happens in Baghdad in particular can’t be viewed in isolation. If the violence continues it may very well lead to full-blown civil war and destroy whatever hopes the country has of building a new future. For what it’s worth, the last British ambassador here thinks civil war is the more likely option.
So no-one downgrades the seriousness of the situation. Instead, what they tell you NOW is that the violence is limited to a relatively small number of death squads and militias and they will eventually be driven out of business by the pace of reconstruction and political progress.
Well, maybe. It is certainly true that here in Basra the British on the ground are doing their best. It’s hard not to be impressed by the bravery of the soldiers, the integrity and the commitment of the people who run this operation …. And easy to understand why so many of them resent having to pick up the pieces of policy decisions taken at the very top levels in Washington and London before the invasion was even launched.
It's jobs that matter
Even for someone who’s been here for as short a time as I have, it’s obvious what this country needs. It needs an enormous amount of money spent… to make good the awful damage of war and the destruction wreaked by a dictator who raped and pillaged his own country. And it’s heart-breaking to see the millions … no, the BILLIONS … being spent in one cause… the cause of security.
Every single person I have spoken to in the past six days has told me that it’s JOBS that matter. It’s reckoned that as many as two thirds of the men in Basra are out of work. If they had jobs they’d be less tempted to do the bidding of the militias and the death squads. If you’ve no money and someone pays you $50 to kill someone else … well, there are plenty of people who’ll do it.
So, no jobs means no peace. But the sort of massive reconstruction that’s needed is not going to happen until there IS peace. It’s the worst sort of vicious circle. Those who don’t have jobs suffer the most but even the middle class professionals lead pretty miserable lives.
Unwelcome guests
General Richard Shireff, the commander of British forces here, thinks you can create a virtuous circle by simultaneously reforming the police, getting rid of the bad guys and improving the schools and hospitals and all the other services people in a decent society take for granted.
But he hasn’t got long to do it. He knows well the political pressure at home (all those polls saying bring the boys back) and the pressures HERE. There are plenty of people who’ll tell you the British simply can’t leave at this stage, but that doesn’t mean they are seen as welcome guests.
A general here talks about leaving within six months. It seems a tall order…. To do in six months what hasn’t been achieved in three and a half years.
But without… without peace … without police officers you can trust not to murder you … there really is no hope. The British know that and sometimes it seems that the optimistic sounds they make are like the small boy whistling in the dark to keep his spirits up. And yet without optimism they might as well pack up and go home now.
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